Our Little Raven
by Yuri Kumiko
Summary: Shinichi was their child, their only precious son. They remember every single thing about their little Shin-chan growing up and the day when their Shin-chan suddenly stopped growing. Memories were hard to forget, very Very hard. One-shot.


**Title: Our Little Raven**

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**Summary: Shinichi was their child, their only precious son. They remember every single thing about their little Shin-chan growing up and the day when their Shin-chan suddenly stopped growing. Memories were hard to forget, very Very hard. One-shot.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own both Detective Conan and Magic Kaito.**

**Pairings: Little hints of KaiShin if you squint harder and a bit of ShinRan at a certain point.**

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**Age: 0**

A shrill cry rang over the hall, startling a dark-haired man who was slowly drifting off to la-la land. Running down the hall towards the door the cry came from; the man slammed the door opened, only to be greeted by several irritated doctors and nurses, his pained wife and one crying baby.

Moving closer towards his wife, the man hold the woman's hand tightly, murmuring soft whispers to calm her down. He ran his hands over her sweaty forehead, moving her oh-so adorable curly bangs aside.

The woman cracked her eyes opened after the pained labor. Her husband was beside her, still cooing and comforting her, saying how pretty she is, how beautiful she is and how hard she work- all her hard work! Her baby!

Panic sink in for a while as the woman frantically waved her weak hands around, trying to release from her husband's hold to find her baby, her hard work after all these months.

Luckily, the doctor was very understanding. He quickly lowered down the baby in his hands and placed the baby into the mother's hands. The baby, a boy, was breathing slowly, deep in slumber. His initial cry was quick to come and go. But as long as the baby had his body checked, the parents could hold him for all they want.

The woman, with her blond curly long hair and the beautiful smile graced upon her lips, held the baby close to her heart, eyes brimming with tears. The father hugged both his wife and the newest addition to their family close to him, wishing to all power above to protect his precious family.

This day, Kudo Shinichi was born.

…

**Age: 1**

For Yukiko, looking after a baby while fulfilling her role as the perfect housewife was not an easy task. And she was never a woman for multitasking. But, that's what husbands are for, right?

Granted, Yuusaku was now crouching in front of the baby cradle, looking at little Shinichi's sleeping face. His soft dark brown hair had a cute cowlick at the crown of his head. The little baby was small for his age, but the cheeks were still chubby and red blushes adorned his beautiful features.

Yuusaku stroked Shinichi's cheek with his forefinger, smiling at the little frown formed between the cute eyebrows. Suddenly, little baby eyes opened with a flutter and Yuusaku was drowned, metaphorically, into the large azure eyes.

Their little staring contest was cut short when Yuusaku felt little fingers curled around his forefinger. Looking down at his finger, he could barely hide his smile at the adorable sight: his baby boy grabbing his finger and giggled while playing his aforementioned finger.

In a sense, little Shinichi was by no means an innocent little baby, or so Yuusaku thought. Grabbing his father's finger, Shinichi tried tugging the wriggling finger and proceed to put the wriggling finger into his mouth.

"Eeek!"

Yuusaku pulled his finger away abruptly, startling the little baby and thus, made him cried. Yukiko wasted no time showing her wrath at the so-called useless dad who apparently 'can't stand a little saliva'.

Shinichi stopped crying as Yukiko came running to him and cuddled the little baby in her arms. The father was literally kicked out of the house. Before the door closed, Yuusaku swore he saw a mischievous glint in little Shinichi's big blue eyes.

That day, Yuusaku confirmed that his little baby boy was an intelligent devil spawn. (Toichi had a good laugh at his exclaim until little Kaito decided that his Kid regalia need more colors.)

…

**Age: 2**

Shinichi was very bright for his age, Yuusaku noted. He started talking after only six months old and can now talk in short sentences even though it wasn't necessarily grammatically correct.

"Otou-san, red color on shirt!" At times like this, Yuusaku wished his son wasn't so smart.

Yukiko whipped around to look at Yuusaku at the statement and found out what little Shinichi saw. It was a red lipstick stain near Yuusaku's collar.

Picking the giggling boy up, Yukiko stomped towards the trembling man and narrowed her eyes. She then proceeded to walk around him to grab her handbag from the sofa behind him. Tucking her handbag under her arm, Yukiko turned around and walked to the door.

"I'm staying over at Chikage-chan. Good day mister!" And the door closed with a slam.

Covering his face with his hands, Yuusaku groaned. He really shouldn't bring a cross-dressed Toichi to bar next time. The drunken magician was more handful than he already was. And a kissy drunk cross-dressed magician was not a great bar partner.

…

**Age: 3**

Yuusaku believed that first hand education was one of the best teaching techniques ever. Thus, he often bring his little Shin-chan out to town for their little father-son moments and sometimes for education.

Sitting on a bench in a nearby neighborhood park, Yuusaku had a book in his hand but his eyes kept drifted to where his baby boy was.

Shinichi was sitting under a large tree with Toichi's four-year-old son, playing with the little toys Toichi brought for them. Though the magician was nowhere in sight.

Little Kaito was a bright child as well, considering the combined intelligence of both the Phantom Lady and Kaitou Kid. He could already conjured roses with his little hands after two lessons from his father.

Yuusaku smiled as Kaito conjured a white rose to Shinichi, making the younger toddler giggled. But before he took the flower from Kaito, the toddler magician shouted a 'poof' and made the rose disappeared from his hands.

For a few seconds, Shinichi stared at Kaito's empty hands with his large blue eyes. Then, without a warning, he practically bawled his head off. That took Kaito off guard and the four-year-old joined the cry as well (little Kaito believed that as long as you cry, you'll never get into trouble with your mum though your dad had to face the mum's wrath).

Yuusaku shook his head and went over the toddlers and took the white rose from Kaito's back pocket and put it back to Kaito's hands.

Kaito blinked through his tears and stared at the rose. Then, it clicked. He gave the rose to Shinichi who stopped crying at the sight of the rose.

Four pairs of eyes suddenly locked onto his.

Kaito blinked some more. "Ojii-san, how you know Kaito put the rose in Kaito's pocket?"

Yuusaku kneeled down to their level and ruffled Kaito's messy bangs. "I saw through your tricks."

Shinichi ran forward and hugged Yuusaku's leg. "Otou-san, teach me." Large, azure eyes stared into his dark blue ones.

"Sure! Come on!"

…

**Age: 4**

Shinichi usually had his bedtime story read by his mother, Yukiko. It was either about fairytales with ponies and fairies and princess and even charming prince on white horse or children's fables with all the moral values.

Shinichi was never too thrilled for bedtime stories. Proof? He never lasted one third of the story anyway. Yukiko, however, was thrilled at the fact that her baby boy was easy to put to sleep. One sappy fairytale and the boy dozed off only after ten minutes. It made her life easier.

But one 'fateful' night broke the status quo.

Yukiko took up her acting career after Shinichi was four years old. Though she tended to do it slowly, she still had to be away from home for a few days every now and then. Thus, the task of reading bedtime stories during her absence fall on Yuusaku's shoulder.

Shinichi was extremely hyper before bedtime. He was overall a quiet and cute little boy but his mischievousness and playfulness were on a whole new level just thirty minutes before his bedtime.

Sitting on Shinichi's bed, Yuusaku pulled out his 'Sign of Four' and started to read it aloud to the squirming boy on his lap. Shinichi struggled for a few more seconds before he quieted down.

Yuusaku stopped his reading as he glanced down at his son, thinking that the boy had fallen asleep. What met him was a pair of blue eyes, pleading the father to continue the story, if the little tug at his sleeve indicated anything.

That night, Shinichi lasted through three whole chapters of 'Sign of Four' and he wanted more. But Yuusaku was tired though he did promise to finish the story the next day if little Shinichi went to bed.

That was when Shinichi's love for Holmes bloomed.

(And Yukiko blamed Yuusaku for it.)

…

**Age: 5**

From the moment Yukiko laid her eyes on her baby Shin-chan, she knew that he inherited most of her looks. Her baby boy had soft porcelain skin, silky brownish hair that was a shade lighter than his father's but a few shades darker than hers, large deep blue eyes and a petite figure. His features were somewhat more feminine as compared to Kaito, his lookalike.

Now, Yukiko was technically a part-time actress, but she never accepted any heavy roles. So, she still had a lot of free times at her hand which she delightfully used to dress her Shin-chan up.

The first dress-up session was easy. Little Shinichi was too engrossed in the world of Holmes to notice his mother creeping up to him in a suspicious manner. He was lifted from his seat and was taken to his room where he was subjected to three hours of dress up.

The result of the first session was a whole stack of pictures with Shinichi in different outfits. But Yukiko's most prized picture was Shinichi in a short blue summer dress and a long blond wig adorned with a flowered laurel crown. Though Shinichi swore to burn that picture the moment he gets his hands on it.

..

**Age: 6**

Yukiko and Yuusaku had an argument on the type of education for Shinichi. Yuusaku wanted some kind of first hand education complete with home tutor for Shinichi so that the boy could easily cope with both his lifestyle and his extreme intelligence. Yukiko, on the other hand, wanted Shinichi to be schooled in a proper institution, so that he could work on the social skills that he lacked.

Yuusaku gave in after a while as the only skills Shinichi haven't developed now was really social skills.

Thus, little Shin-chan was sent to Teitan Elementary by one overly enthusiastic Yukiko.

The mornings without Shin-chan were considered very uneventful for Yukiko. She missed chasing her little boy around the house for their weekly dress-up sessions, she missed chatting with her boy when she was cooking in the kitchen, she missed the little weight on her lap when her boy wanted to have a nap and she missed dragging her boy out from the library to do some shopping with her. All and all, she missed her little Shin-chan's company.

But one day, her little Shin-chan came home holding hands with a brown-haired girl. She knew that girl. She was the daughter of her high school rival, Kiseki Eri, though Yukiko couldn't hide the pang of jealousy that washed over her.

After befriending little Mouri Ran, her little Shin-chan barely had time for his mommy. Every day after school, Shinichi would drag Ran along for whatever adventure and come back home with muds sticking all over his little body. Yukiko would laughed it off and leave it to Eri to reprimand them.

Until one evening, little Shin-chan came home with bruises on his face and visible dried tear streaks on his cheeks.

It was because some bullies decided to pick on Ran and Shinichi stood up for her. He put up quite a fight, as recounted by Ran, and managed to run away with Ran. But some punches and kicks did make their mark. He was strong and tried very hard to be brave for Ran until Eri scolded Shinichi for getting Ran into trouble. That's when the poor boy started crying. Well, it wasn't exactly his fault some bullies pick on Ran and he did try his best defending Ran.

Yukiko would have none of those. No one made her baby cry and gets away with it. She'll have to deal with Eri (and the bullies, how dare they lay a hand on her baby boy) soon, after cooing her baby to sleep, that is.

…

**Age: 7**

"Otou-san, I want to learn to play violin." Yuusaku raised an eyebrow at the little boy in front of him, wondering what in the world came over him.

Putting aside his newspaper, Yuusaku hunched forward to look Shinichi at eye-level. "Why do you want to learn violin, Shinichi?"

"Sherlock knows how to play violin!" Little Shinichi replied enthusiastically, his body language obviously screamed 'I want that and I will get what I want!'

Chuckled at the boy's antics, Yuusaku nodded his head and went back to make a phone call for a private violin tutor.

Shinichi's violin lessons went well. The tutor was pleased to have a quiet and not all-hyper-and-stuffs as her student. Besides, little Shinichi proved to be a bright kid and diligent as well if the worn out music sheets had anything else to say.

Everything was going fine until Shinichi's tutor decided that his parents should at least know about their son's progress. So, she tried coaxing Shinichi to play a piece in front of both Yukiko and Yuusaku.

That was when Yukiko started her love towards classical music, especially the violin version of 'Ode to Joy' her little Shin-chan played to her for the first time.

…

**Age: 8**

Once again, the Kuroba household had an addition of a little boy temporarily during summer vacation. Yukiko and Chikage made it a tradition for their boys to be together for the vacation. The company of someone their own size and age could help them with their lack of social department. (But in Kaito's case, the Kurobas only wanted another willing victim to help burn off the extra energy the hyper active Kaito had.)

That was the plan until Toichi decided to babysit both the boys.

Yuusaku was sitting at the desk in one of the numerous guest rooms the Kuroba vacation house had. He was rushing the due date of one of his scripts and had demanded immediate isolation form his hyperactive wife and his all-too-playful best friend (and said best friend's son).

He made sure to lock the door and pulled a chair over as a make shift barricade to keep out unwanted magician thief that practically pick-locks for fun. Food supplies were packed nicely beside the desk as well as a few bottles of water lest he gets dehydrated.

Suddenly, the door clicked open. Cursing under his breath about some 'damn childish magicians who can never leave a poor author alone' and some sorts, Yuusaku yelled over his shoulder while his hands never stop typing on the laptop he brought over. "Toichi! Get the hell out of my room! Damn you and your tricks!"

Moments flew by and Yuusaku frowned at the lack of the usual teasing chuckle he usually heard from his best friend whenever he snapped at him. Letting out a sigh, Yuusaku turned around to look at the door and was shocked to see a frightened Shinichi by the door.

Cursed inwardly, Yuusaku moved to the door and took away the chair and pulled Shinichi into the room before the little boy bawled his head off. He learned in a hard way that Shinichi knew how to make use of his tears to earn pities from both the women in the house. Once Shinichi started crying, Yukiko would ignore him for days and literally left him alone to fend for himself. That was never a good experience for Yuusaku.

With a teary Shinichi now sitting on the bed, Yuusaku kneeled down and looked into Shinichi in the eyes. He had a lot of question to ask the boy but first, he had to confirm a suspicion.

"Shinichi?" Yuusaku tried the 'I'm a nice father and I'll never hit you in anyway' approach.

"Who taught you to pick locks?"

Wide teary eyes looked back at him, "Toichi-ojiisan."

That particular night, one gentleman magician thief extraordinaire or whatever the egoistical idiot called himself was locked out of the building with wiggling lizards strapped all over his body. The poor guy was found by his wife the next day, murmuring to himself and eyes as blank as a white paper while curled in ball, sitting on the front porch.

Toichi then proceed to teach Shinichi more pranks but made sure he wasn't around when the two boys decided to play said pranks to the unsuspected Yuusaku.

…

**Age: 9**

Yukiko raised an eyebrow at a pleading Shinichi in front her, asking her permission to let him go with Yuusaku to town. Shinichi hated going shopping with Yukiko but was thrilled to go to town with Yuusaku whenever he was given the chance. It was something that Yukiko was itching to know why.

As soon as the men in the family went out, Yukiko dashed into her room and walked out as Kanade Yuki, a dark haired woman with a stern look on her face. She tucked a few more disguises inside her handbag before following Yuusaku and her son. The extra disguises were essential as Yuusaku was painfully too observant for her own good.

Her stalking session went to a halt when she heard a scream from around the corner. Walking to the source with carefully constructed fear and anxiety on her face, Yukiko stopped her movement at the sight of the crime scene.

In the center of the scene, Yuusaku was kneeling down on one foot in front of the victim, left hand holding his chin while pieces of observation ran around that brilliant brain of his. It was normal for both Yukiko and the police officers as Yuusaku was often called to help with solving crimes. But the sight of her little Shin-chan running around the bloody crime scene angered the famous under-disguised actress.

She was fuming! Yuusaku should not even bring Shinichi to the crime scene let alone let the little boy roamed around the crime scene when he was busy solving the bloody crime. What if the bloody scene scarred her poor Shin-chan's mind? What if some psycho murderer decided to hold her baby hostage? What if he got hurt somehow in that bloody dangerous crime scene? Yuusaku should know better!

Yukiko stormed off before the crime was solved and went home to prepare for all kinds of punishment she had in mind for the pair of father and son; the father, for bringing their son to a freaking bloody crime scene and her son for taking an interest in crime solving.

…

**Age: 10**

Shinichi was usually a quiet boy who prefers books over balls. He never went anywhere without his books and Yukiko blamed Yuusaku for this (among all the other stuffs).

It was when Shinichi brought his book during their vacation at Hawaii Yukiko snapped. Snatching the boy's book away from him while ignoring his rare, adorable pout, Yukiko stormed off to find Yuusaku and demanded him to persuade Shinichi take up an outdoor sports or games.

Scratching his head sheepishly, Yuusaku approached Shinichi, who was still pouting due to his lack of books, and took him to a nearby sports gym. Yuusaku went straight to the counter and asked for a soccer ball. He then drove around the city for a field where they could play soccer.

One foot on the ball, Yuusaku frowned at a yawning Shinichi. "Shinichi, straighten up! We're going to start your soccer lesson now."

"Otou-san, you know that I'm not interested in any of this, right?"

"Yes. But please give it a try, your mum will kill me if you're practically drowned under those books again."

"But otou-san.." Screw his ten-year-old pride. Shinichi would whine as much as he could if it means to escape whatever sports idea his dad came up with.

"No buts!" Yuusaku turned his head slightly to the side so that he won't give in at his son's whining and pleading and that oh-so-adorable pout of his.

After a few failed whining and pleading from Shinichi, their soccer lesson finally started.

Yuusaku started with a short summarize version of the history of soccer and some of the theories behind each soccer techniques. After that, they proceed to the practical part of the lesson.

Yuusaku gently kicked a ball to Shinichi and wanted the boy to pass the ball back to him, training his control on the passing of balls. A few rounds later, the ten-year-old was somewhat excited and decided to up the level by his own.

He started kicking the ball harder; making it flew a low arc towards Yuusaku who passed the ball back the same way. The boy was having fun now. His kicks were stronger every passing and the arc was higher.

Suddenly, Yuusaku's phone rang. The mystery writer fished his phone out while cursing at the caller. Looking down to check the caller was Yuusaku's biggest mistake. As soon as his attention was distracted, the ball hit him of his face, knocking the writer off his legs.

Rubbing at his nose, the father glared at his son who laughed at his poor father's misfortune despite he was the one who deliver the blow.

And that's the reason why Shinichi started to play soccer.

(Yukiko never knew why Shinichi suddenly develop an interest in soccer until one day he told Ran he's trained soccer as a mean to train his accuracy in kicking the ball AT a target.)

…

**Age: 11**

The soccer match between Teitan Elementary and Ekoda Elementary ended with the score 3-2.

Their team was ecstatic. They never went into the finals of Junior League and they never thought they'll even have the chance to meet the legendary Ekoda Elementary on the field, let alone won a match against them. It was a miracle.

Since Shinichi was the one who delivered the deciding goal, the team crowded around Shinichi and was cheering happily as soon as they heard the whistle signaling the end of the match.

But before they decided to throw their star play into the air, a figure moved passed them and gave the surprising star a bone-crushing hug.

Shinichi gave an undignified yelp when his mother came hugging in tightly. He then mustered all his might to struggle out of his mom's iron grip. But Yukiko held onto her son tightly, grinning at her son's failed attempt to get out from her signature hug.

"Okaa-san~! Let me go!" Shinichi whined as he continued his struggling. He never did understand how a seemingly fragile woman like his mom could have so much strength. It hurts his eleven-year-old 'man' pride to no end.

Tighten her grip around her son's torso, Yukiko mocked a pained expression. "Shin-chan? Why? Don't you love your Kaa-san?"

"What? NO!" The poor boy protested vehemently, fully aware of his mother's mischievous grin hid under her long curly bangs. "Just don't hug me in public!"

Ending her impromptu emotional scene, Yukiko quickly switched to her usual character, with the usual sparkles and the evil grin all in place. "But Shin-chan dear, you used to whine and beg for just a little hug. And let's not forget that one time when you're already nine-year-old, you practically beg-"

"Kaa-san!" Face flushed with embarrassment, Shinchi squirmed harder in his mum's arm but failed to get away yet again.

"-and pleaded to Yuu-chan to carry you back to bed. There was also one time you cried because-" Yukiko continued, never bothered about her Shin-chan's protests.

"Okaa-san, please!"

"- I didn't give you a hug and a kiss before you go to school. Your teachers had to bring you home earlier that day because you didn't stop crying. You were so cute and clingy then." Yukiko looked down at her gave-up-in-protesting-or-squirming son, fully satisfied at the nice shade of red colored on his cheeks.

At the background, a group of twenty grade schoolers stood shell-shocked crowding the pair of mother and son while their brains were fried after knowing the cute (?) side of their star player.

The day after, Shinichi was seen running away from his 'fan girls' wanting to hug him just to see his unusual cute blush.

…

**Age: 12**

The Kudos loved parties of any sorts. Or at least, the older does.

Parties are Yukiko's only excuse to openly dressed Shinichi up in various kinds of awkward formal outfit. And Shinichi absolutely detested such sessions. Yuusaku, however, found all these so-called dress-up sessions amusing.

Amusing was an understatement after Yukiko decided that her son would look real good in dress. Not like she never tried that before but bringing a 'daughter' to a party was somewhat a bonus entertainment for her.

Thus, Shinichi attended the party his parents hosted wearing a waist-long blond curly wig with blue ribbons on top and a short blue frilly dress that shows his creamy legs. The worst part is when his parents introduced him as himself, adding the cross-dressing details in the introduction. Needless to say, Shinichi was pissed.

His best friend, Kaito, wasn't making his worst night better either. The older boy was laughing his head off at the sight of his younger playmate who glared daggers at the laughing boy (or teen? Kaito _is_ thirteen now).

His bottom felt chilly all of a sudden. Before Shinichi could registered what had happened, Kaito snickered. "White lacey panty? Wow! I had no idea how your mum managed to get you to wear that." Faking a thoughtful look, Kaito looked at Shinichi, "You'll make a beautiful bride."

Shinichi was angry. Shinchi was furious. Shnichi was ashamed. Shinichi was embarrassed. But then a thought crossed his mind and an evil smirk went across his face.

"Kaito-chan~" Kaito shuddered at the deceivingly sweet voice. "You will pay for this." And Kaito paled.

The rest of the night went by with Kaito running away with a pretty and girlish-looking Shinichi chasing him with two fish plushies until Shinichi fell down on his rear, exposing whatever unmanly stuffs his mum made him wear under the damned itchy frilly girly dress. His man pride was gone that very day.

And Yuusaku had all of it recorded in a video.

…

**Age: 13**

Wincing at another explosion from the kitchen, Yukiko shook her head and slowly moved towards to kitchen, trying to fix whatever mess the two guys in the family made.

The mess she saw in the kitchen was more than a nightmare. Standing in front of the stove was Shinichi and Yuusaku, both covered in black gooey stuffs of who-knows-what. At least two of her pans were out of commission as well as the pot of innocent looking blue coloured dough. Yukiko swore she saw the dough _moved_!

Smiling sheepishly, Yuusaku turned to look at his wife. "Ermm..dear?" He flinched slightly when Yukiko glared at him. "Need some help here?"

Sighing, Yukiko took over the kitchen, but not before kicking her ever so useless husband out of her territory.

Shinichi squirmed uncomfortably under her glare, hoping to all deities above to spare him from his mum's wrath.

Either his prayers were heard or he was just plain lucky today, Yukiko sighed and wiped the mess off his face. Well, at least he wasn't yelled at.

Throwing the now black towel, Yukiko lead Shinichi back to the kitchen. "Let's just clean this up and I'll teach you how to cook, okay?"

Yukiko had to go through hell to knock some cooking sense into her son's thick brain. But his expression after succeeding in making his first cake was worth all her hard work.

It took the usually bright teen exactly four months to master a dish but barely four hours to memorize the entire 300-page cookbook.

…

**Age: 14**

It was barely four a.m. in the morning but both the older Kudos were awake. Suitcases lined up at the front door, waiting for their owners to pick them up.

Yuusaku was taking the last bit of Yukiko's stuffs when he saw a half awake Shinichi in the middle of the hallway.

"Otou-san?" His voice sounded so soft, so confused and so lost. Yuusaku was torn apart at the slight hint of betrayal hidden deep under his son's sleepy voice.

Waiting for Yuusaku's response but got none, Shinichi walked slowly towards Yuusaku. "Are you going anywhere?"

Yuusaku gulped and racked his brain for the best answer he could give to his son. But one look at his son's bright cerulean eye snapped the last thread hanging onto the final bit of guilty he had had the moment they decide to travel around the world without their son.

"Dad?"

"I'm sorry son." Smoke dissipated from a sleeping gas canister he gotten from Toichi and a thump can be heard a few feet in front of him.

Leaving the suitcase at the hallway, Yuusaku walked forward and carried Shinichi in his arms, back to his room. He tucked his sleeping son in and kissed his forehead, letting his control slip for a while to show the unusual gesture of affection to his son. "Goodbye son. See you soon."

…

**Age: 15**

It was when they were basking under the beautiful sun at Bali in Indonesia they heard about their son's news. The clock tower heist with Kaitou Kid had earned enough publicity for Shinichi to be famous worldwide.

That was also when both Yukiko and Yuusaku decided to head back to Japan to visit their son.

They missed him so much. Not that they ever show it but under the moonlight when there were only both of them, Yukiko silently cry herself to sleep whenever she misses her son. Yuusaku had a good Poker Face. But even that cracked when the images of Shinichi's pained look flashes in his mind.

Thus, off to Japan.

Standing in front of an older Shinichi, Yukiko frowned at the change of his attitude. Sure, Shinichi was still polite and all (since she was the one who taught him manners), but he was also more distant.

One look at Shinichi's cocky grin and taunting eyebrows, Yukiko knew that was his mask. And she hated herself for forcing her baby boy to create a mask at such a young age. No one should be living under a mask or a fully constructed Poker Face at the tender age of fifteen.

As a mother, Yukiko took time to peel of the layers of mask Shinichi laid upon himself. It was a tiring process and Shinichi did no help by constructing more masks to lay as fast as Yukiko peel his masks off.

It was only after a while when Yukiko learnt about why Shinichi acted like that. Ran practically yelled at her despite the age difference and the fact that Yukiko was still Ran's elders though she'll never admit it.

Ran was angry at the Kudos for leaving Shinichi and she indirectly blamed the Kudos for how Shinichi acted after their leave. She also pointed out that Shinichi practically craved for media publication nowadays just to attract his parents' attention just because he thought that maybe if he was famous enough, his parents might be proud of him and went back home.

After that little outburst, Ran apologized before storming out of the room, leaving the older Kudos thinking about their actions.

In the end, they still left, not wanting to face a pained Shinichi after what they did to him.

…

**Age: 16**

To say that Yukiko was frantic when she received a call from Professor Agasa was an understatement of the year. She totally freaked out when Agasa called the Kudos to 'inform' them about Shinichi's _little_ poisoning case though she relaxed after knowing that her baby was still alive and well.

And they took the next flight from Australia to Japan.

"Shin-chan, you looked so cute!" Yukiko swept little Shinichi up for a hug the moment she took off her disguise.

"Ack! Okaa-san!" As usual, Shinichi protested against her hug no matter what size he was.

Yukiko never guessed their second visit back to Japan would be about a ring of criminal organization after her Shinichi. Though she acted like usual, all bubbly and cheerful, but deep down, she was worried about her only son.

Her baby was too precious to be after any kind of criminal organization.

When Shinichi refused to go with them to America, Yukiko was both angry and sad. She was angry because refusing their help meant Shinichi was exposing himself to the criminal organization. She was sad because her baby's choice might cost him his life.

However, Yukiko gave in at Shinichi's determined look though she made him promise to contact them as soon as he was in trouble.

With a mixed feeling, Yukiko and Yuusaku went back to their second home at America, deciding to stay there for a while.

…

**Age: 17**

Everything was black and white now. Absolutely everything.

Yuusaku was desperately holding onto a crying Yukiko who could barely stand. He wanted so much to cry as well. But he won't, he couldn't. Yukiko needs him now and he wasn't going to break down into pieces when his precious wife needed him.

Smiling sadly at Shinichi's smiling face, Yuusaku said, "Hey, son. Don't worry, we'll get them for you. Just be happy up there, okay?"

Too bad Shinichi didn't reply him. But Yuusaku knew better. Shinichi couldn't reply him. His precious son was dead. Killed and devoured by the bloodthirsty crows.

Tightening his hold on Yukiko's shoulder, Yuusaku clenched his jaws. He looked down at Yukiko and whispered, "Come on dear. Let's show them not to mess with the Kudos," into her ears. His long bangs covered his eyes that were glinting with such menace that'll scare even Gin away.

Still in his hold, Yukiko nodded slowly while wiping away her tears though she continued her crying act to cover the anger hidden under her red, puffy eyes.

Police officers that Shinichi worked before with, his childhood friend Ran, his detective pals Heiji and Saguru, his other childhood friend Kaito and even Sonoko came to his last farewell. Megure-keibu and sometimes, Mouri Kogoro as well as Kiseki Eri comforted the broken parents, totally unaware of the promised revenge hidden under the carefully constructed sadness in their eyes.

The Kuroba family then escorted the elder Kudos back to their house, where they'll start a journey of never return of hunting crows.

…

**Age: 20**

It took both the resourceful Kuroba family and the connections the Kudo family had three years to completely wipe all crows off the surface of the Earth.

They were in league with both international and national law enforcement during the take down of the BO. The FBI and CIA were very helpful during the 'cleaning' at an international scale. The Japanese police, on the other hand, had help from both their most prominent detectives, Hattori Heiji and Hakuba Saguru to track down and gather information about the various hideouts the BO had.

Yuusaku and Toichi were the brains behind the operation with some help from Kaito. Whenever Yuusaku's mind was taken over by his emotions over the death of his son, Toichi and Kaito would help to pull him back to his feet. That, he felt very grateful of.

And Yukiko thanked all the help they received after knowing the intention of the Kudos to avenge their son's death.

Smirking evilly at one of the BO member who was taken away by the law enforcers, Yukiko was glad that the member paled at the sight of her.

She couldn't blame him though. He did saw how Vermouth was murdered brutally by a furious Yukiko with a bat after she was disarmed by Yuusaku, how Gin was tortured to death, how their boss pleaded for both the Kudos to stop their violent act of revenge and how both generations of Kaitou Kid grimaced at the act the Kudos did but never did step in and stopped them. He even saw the raging glares one of the Kid kept shooting at Gin, even though he knew both Kids were strictly non-violent. He could swear that one Kid tried to kill Gin when the other wasn't looking.

Yukiko was now drenched with blood of her hated crows. She wasn't the innocent and bubbly famous actress anymore. She was tainted with the darkness of the world and she knew she could never go back to her previous life before. But she didn't give a damn about all those. Without her Shinichi by her side, none of those matters.

With the final curtain closed, the hunting season ended after three years, together with the extinction of the crows.

…

**Age: 30**

They took thirteen years recovering from the emotional depression they had after Shinichi's death and ten years to be mentally prepared to return to Japan, the place where it held both wonderful and painful memories.

The Kuroba family was very supportive. Toichi helped Yuusaku to overcome his emotional barrier and wrote a memoir about Shinichi, recording down every single wonderful moment they had with the blue-eyed teen. Chikage helped Yukiko through all her emotional breakdowns due to her personality change during the takedown of the BO. Kaito was constantly going back and forth from Ekoda to Beika, acting as a surrogate son of the Kudos, cheering them up occasionally and helping them get over the loss of their own son.

Opening the mahogany door with extra caution, a blast of nostalgic smell went through it, flooding both Yuusaku and Yukiko in the rivers of memories.

Tearing up, Yukiko held onto Yuusaku's hand and said, "Shin-chan, we're home."

As the wind continued to blow, Yukiko was very very happy when she heard a faint, "welcome back."

…

**Age: 40**

Yukiko's mental conditions were getting worse. She had occasional delusions and it had even affected her hearings. She was now a sixty year old woman who constantly needs care.

Luckily for Yuusaku, Kaito was always there to help Yukiko though he wondered why the magician never gotten married. Even Ran moved past Shinichi's death and was married to a lawyer eight years ago.

"Shin-chan! Come here young man! Let okaa-san touch your face." Yukiko called out at 'Shinichi' hands outstretch to touch her 'son's' face.

Kaito knew. But he had to put in an act, just to keep Yukiko's fragile heart and mind intact. His parent's had long given up asking him when he will settle down. They knew how much he wanted to help the Kudos stand up again and they secretly lend him some helping hands too.

He leaned forward towards Yukiko, letting the woman touched his face.

"Okaa-san." Kaito said it in Shinichi's voice, even though he knew how much it hurts him to use that voice he came to love so much, "don't call me that."

"But Shin-chan," Yukiko whined, "you're so adorable and I love you so much!"

Kaito smiled sadly and said, still in Shinichi's voice, "I'm not!" and softy muttered, "I love you too." Tears flowed down his cheeks and Kaito quickly moved aside to get his emotional under control before facing Yukiko again.

"Shin-chan?" Yukiko enquired, her head tilted at one side until she spotted Yuusaku. "Yuu-chan!"

Yuusaku walked into the room and hugged Yukiko. "Come dear, let's go to bed." He then led Yukiko up to their bedroom.

Deep down under their hearts, they knew no matter how much it hurts them to do so, they'll never tell Yukiko that Shinichi was long dead. She'll break into pieces.

…

**Age: 50**

Yukiko's mental health worsens over the years and the fifty-one years old Kaito had finally moved into the Kudo's mansion to look after her. But the treatments never worked until one day Yukiko fainted. She was sent to the hospital by a frantic Kaito who just returned from his performance.

The hospital room wasn't that big considering the fortune the Kudo family had. But it was suffice for four visitors to be in the room at the same time.

Chikage was seated at the right side of the bed, holding onto Yukiko's hand, silently crying and praying for her friend to live it through. On her left side was Yuusaku. He had never spoken a word after Yukiko's admission and had never left her side either.

Three days unconscious in the hospital, Yukiko woke up.

She looked around her, taking in the sight of a tired Kaito and Toichi seating at the end of the room on a couch, a devastated Yuusaku by her left sight and a sleeping Chikage by her right. She smiled at Kaito who woke up for a drink and nodded at him to wake the others up.

Yuusaku held his wife's hand tighter as if she would be gone if he ever let go. Not that he will.

Looking at Yuusaku, Yukiko smiled. A smile that was different that all those smile she showed him all these years. It was a smile of knowing and relief and forgiving.

"Yuu-chan, I'm going to find Shin-chan soon. We'll wait for you. Take your time. I love you."

At the age of seventy, the once beautiful and famous actress, Kudo Yukiko passed away.

…

**Age: 60**

It had been Yuusaku's worst ten years. He was struggling to survive all the emotions that were eating him up. He wasn't the same intelligent, cunning with a tinge of mischievousness author anymore after Yukiko's death.

He had retired from his work as an author after Yukiko died. He occasionally helped the police with their cases though Kaito won't allow him to overdo himself.

Over the ten years, the Kuroba and Kudo family had gotten closer. Even Toichi and Chikage moved into the Kudo mansion, insisted by Kaito. It seems that he wanted to keep all his parents together so that they'll have the company whenever Kaito was away.

Yuusaku was very grateful for whatever the Kuroba family had done for them. From the taking down of BO to taking care of Yukiko and accompany her during her final days.

Settling down in his favourite chair at the library, Yuusaku started flipping through pages of an old photo album. It was of his family during their happy times before the crows ripped it all apart.

Two hours later, Kaito found Yuusaku sitting on his favourite chair in the library, a photo album on his lap. Upon closer inspection, Kaito was shocked to realize that Yuusaku had stopped breathing. He called his parents and all the Kuroba family silently cried for the loss of yet another brilliant brain Japan had to offer.

But they were all relived to see the calm and peaceful look on Yuusaku's face. It was the end now and yet another beginning for the Kudo family.

And finally, their family was a whole again.

* * *

**A/N: I'm back! Apparently our Uni was kind enough to let us have our wifi just two days after we checked in the new semester! So I was terribly delighted and had spent two days did no writing. Tsk tsk.**

**Anyway, here's a one-shot I spent weeks on completing it. I wanted the atmosphere to be light and cheery though I had no idea how it became so angsty at the end. Good gosh!**

**Extra note: I know I've another week to post MoaG: Lucky Star's next chapter but just to tell ya all, I haven't even started the chapter yet. Eeeep! I'm sorry but I promised to finish it up within this week. Be patient with me ya!**

**Oh! Please do leave some reviews. I'd love to receive some constructive criticism on my writing style or even the plotline which after a while, doesn't make much sense to me.**

**Reviews! xD**


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